| Disputed islands Other names: Petrel Islands |
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| NASA image of Bajo Nuevo. | |
| Geography | |
  Bajo Nuevo Bank (Colombia)
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| Location | Caribbean Sea |
| Coordinates | 15°53′N 78°38′W / 15.883°N 78.633°W |
| Length | 26 kilometres (16 mi) |
| Width | 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) |
| Highest point | unnamed location on Low Cay 2 metres (6.6 ft) |
| Administered by | |
 Colombia |
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| Department | San Andrés and Providencia |
| Claimed by | |
 Jamaica |
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 Nicaragua |
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 United States |
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| Territory | unorganized, unincorporated |
| Demographics | |
| Population | |
Bajo Nuevo Bank, also known as the Petrel Islands (Spanish: Bajo Nuevo or Islas Petrel), is a small, uninhabited reef with some small islets, covered with grass, located in the western Caribbean Sea at 15°53′N 78°38′W / 15.883°N 78.633°WCoordinates: 15°53′N 78°38′W / 15.883°N 78.633°W, with a lighthouse on Low Cay at 15°51′N 78°38′W / 15.85°N 78.633°W. The closest neighbouring land feature is Serranilla Bank, located 110 kilometres to the west.
The reef was first shown on Dutch maps dating to 1634 but was given its present name in 1654. Bajo Nuevo was rediscovered by the English pirate John Glover in 1660. Today, the cays are administered by Colombia as part of the department of San Andrés and Providencia.[1][2][3]
Contents |
Geography
Bajo Nuevo Bank is about 26 km long and 9 km wide. The satellite image shows two distinct atoll-like structures separated by a deep channel 1.4 km wide at its narrowest point. The larger southwestern reef complex measures 15.4 km northeast-southwest, and is up to 9.4 km wide, covering an area of about 100 km². The reef partially dries on the southern and eastern sides. The smaller northeastern reef complex measures 10.5 km east-west and is up to 5.5 km wide, covering an area of 45 km². The land area is minuscule by comparison.
The most prominent cay is Low Cay, in the southwestern atoll. It is 300 m long and 40 m wide (about 0.01 km²), no more than 2 m high, and barren. It is composed of broken coral, driftwood, and sand. The light beacon on Low Cay is a 21 m (69 feet) metal tower, painted white with a red top. It was constructed in 1980.[4] It emits a focal plane beam of light as two white flashes of light every 15 seconds. The beacon is currently maintained by the Colombian Navy.[5]
Territorial Dispute
Bajo Nuevo Bank is the subject of conflicting claims made by a number of sovereign states. In most cases, the dispute stems from attempts by a state to expand its exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas.
Jamaica's claim has been largely dormant since entering into a number of bilateral agreements with Colombia. Between 1982 and 1986, the two states maintained a formal agreement which granted regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels within the territorial waters of Bajo Nuevo and nearby Serranilla Bank.[6] In 1993, the two states agreed upon a maritime delimitation treaty establishing a "Joint Regime Area" to co-operatively manage, explore and exploit living and non-living resources in designated waters between the two banks.[7] However, the territorial waters immediately surrounding the cays themselves were excluded from the zone of joint-control.[8]
Nicaragua lays claim to all the islands on its continental shelf, covering an area of over 50,000 km2 in the Caribbean Sea, including Bajo Nuevo Bank and all islands associated with the San Andrés and Providencia archipelagoes. It has persistently pursued this claim against Colombia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), filing cases in both 2001 and 2007.[9][10]
The United States claim was made on 22 November 1869 under the Guano Islands Act.[11] Most of the guano islands claimed by the U.S. in the area of San Andrés and Providencia were officially ceded to Colombia in 1981, via a treaty signed in September 1972.[12] But it is unclear whether Bajo Nuevo Bank was included in the agreement. On some records, it is stated that the U.S. considers the reef to be an unorganized, unincorporated United States territory.[11][13]
Honduras, prior to its ratification of a maritime boundary treaty with Colombia on 20 December 1999,[14] had previously also laid claim to Bajo Nuevo and nearby Serranilla Bank. Both states agreed upon a maritime demarcation in 1986 that excluded Honduras of any control over the banks or their surrounding waters.[15][16][17] This bilateral treaty ensured that Honduras implicitly recognises Colombia's sovereignty over the disputed territories. Honduras' legal right to hand over these areas was disputed by Nicaragua before the ICJ.[18][19]
See also
References
- ^ (Spanish) Armada de la República de Colombia: Forces and Commands — area is under the jurisdiction of Comando Específico de San Andrés y Providencia.
- ^ Colombian Government, Instituto Geografico Agustin Codazzi — an official map of terrestrial and maritime boundaries of Colombia.
- ^ (Spanish) "Grupo de Señalización Marítima del Caribe". Colombian Government, Ministry of National Defence. May 2008. http://www.dimar.mil.co/vbeContent/library/documents/DocNewsNo5625DocumentNo4811.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-16. Photographs of Colombian lighthouses, with Bajo Nuevo Bank shown, pages 4-5.
- ^ University of North Carolina: Lighthouses of Colombia.
- ^ (Spanish) "Contract No. 153". Colombian Government, Ministerio de Defensa Nacional. February 2008. http://www.contratos.gov.co/archivospuc1/2008/C/115001007/08-11-78323/C_PROCESO_08-11-78323_115001007_755461.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-23. Contract detail between Colombian Defense Ministry and private contractor, Tecnosoluciones Ltda, for the replacement of various metal lighthouse structures, including on Bajo Nuevo Bank.
- ^ "Fishing Agreement Between Jamaica and the Republic of Colombia". United Nations. November 1982. http://untreaty.un.org/unts/60001_120000/10/4/00018176.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-20. Fishing agreement which permits regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels around Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Banks.
- ^ Colombia Jamaica Joint Regime Treaty
- ^ (Spanish) "Sentencia No. C-045/94". Government of Colombia, Secretaría del Senado. February 1994. http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/cc_sc_nf/1994/c-045_1994.html. Retrieved 2009-11-22. Review of the 1993 Maritime Delimitation Treaty between Colombia and Jamaica.
- ^ "Territorial and Maritime Dispute". International Court of Justice. December 2007. http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/124/14305.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-17. Nicaragua v. Colombia, Preliminary Objections.
- ^ International Court of Justice: Nicaragua v. Colombia — Press Release, 2001.
- ^ a b "Acquisition Process of Insular Areas". United States Government, Department of the Interior. http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/acquisition_process.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-13. Lists Bajo Nuevo Bank as an insular area under U.S. sovereignty.
- ^ (Spanish) Treaty of exchange between Colombia and the United States, 1972
- ^ "Application of the U.S. Constitution". United States Government, General Accounting Office. November 1997. http://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-13. Page 39 states that U.S. sovereignty over Bajo Nuevo is disputed. "Currently, the United States conducts maritime law enforcement operations in and around Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo consistent with U.S. sovereignty claims." This is the only archived document from this source that mentions Bajo Nuevo Bank as an insular area.
- ^ (Spanish) Affirmation of Maritime Delimitation Treaty between Honduras and Colombia, 1999
- ^ (Spanish) Treaty between Colombia and Honduras, 1986
- ^ (Spanish) Republic of Honduras: Political Constitution of 1982 through 2005 reforms
- ^ The American Society of International Law — see map at top of article.
- ^ The Republic of Nicaragua v. The Republic of Colombia, CCJ Case File
- ^ Nicaragua-Honduras Territorial Dispute De Mar, Rebecca. American University, June 2002.
External links
- USGS GNIS: Bajo Nuevo Bank
- Website with a map of San Andrés and Providencia, Serranilla Bank, Bajo Nuevo Bank and Rosalind Bank
- Aerial picture of Bajo Nuevo Bank — the website is related to San Andrés and Providencia.
- WorldStatesmen — lists the bank under United States.
- Topographic Map — Continental, Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of Colombia.
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